Neymar hits out at ticket resale allegations

The player's father is once again in the headlines after Brazilian media linked him with an investigation into ticket touting, but the Barcelona forward has slammed the story

Barcelona star Neymar has leapt to the defence of his father after a Brazilian newspaper claimed he is part of an investigation into the illegal resale of World Cup tickets.

Folha de Sao Paulo reported on Thursday that police have arrested 11 people in relation to the investigation and that a number of football figures - including Neymar's father and former Brazil star Dunga - could initially be called as witnesses to testify in court.

Neymar has lashed out at the story on his official Instagram account by insisting that linking his father - who hit the headlines this year after it was revealed he earned €40 million on the 22-year-old's move from Santos to Barca - was merely sensationalism.

It is suggested that Neymar Sr, and many Brazilian former World Cup stars, have been in contact with one or more of the 11 arrested in relation to the ticket resale investigation.

One of the reasons that many former Selecao stars are considered to be potential witnesses is allegedly because they attended a party in Rio celebrating the 1970 campaign at which the reported head of the group, French-Algerian Mahamodou Lamine Fofana, was present.

Neymar's family published a swift rebuttal on their website after the story went live on Thursday, stating: "We are sick of gossip and lies that are unsupported, but only help to sell newspapers."

Fifa has pledged to assist with Brazilian police in the investigation, while football associations from Brazil, Argentina and Spain were unable to comment.